SARASOTA COUNTY — Sarasota County is exploring the possibility of building a new complex for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, in an effort to increase the department’s efficiency and streamline operations over the next few decades.

Sheriff Tom Knight said Wednesday that his department currently operates in at least 23 different buildings around the county, many of which are antiquated and do not have enough space for current operations. A report by Architect’s Design Group, the firm working with the county on the design and development of its new $12.1 million emergency operations center to be built in Sarasota, states the Sheriff’s Office currently is operating out of what equates to about 52 percent of the space it needs to provide law enforcement services to the county.